


Lessons

by BlackKittens



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: We Die Like Men, written at 3 am
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-16
Updated: 2019-01-16
Packaged: 2019-10-11 03:13:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17438852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackKittens/pseuds/BlackKittens
Summary: Four lessons Shiro learned from his former loves, and one he learned from Keith.





	Lessons

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted fluff and a 4+1 fic, and somehow this came out of nowhere in the middle of the night. Hope you all enjoy!

Shiro's first love was a girl named Samanta Sato.

Shiro still remembered the first day he met her, when her family moved into the neighborhood. He remembered her big, brown eyes, her flowing black hair, the scent of the flowery perfume she wore. They were fifteen years old, and he was set to enter Galaxy Garrison in Arizona in the fall.

Samantha had been a spectacle. She bursted with energy, gleefully fluttering from person to person like the social butterfly she was. She loved the thrill of stealing her mom's beat up hoverbike and taking Shiro for an underage joyride. Her dream was to work at NASA someday. Shiro had been attracted to her at first sight, but getting to know her had cemented his affection.

Their time together could be described as nothing less than a true summer romance. They spent their days together in the sun and their nights beside each other beneath the constellations. They playfully threw sand at each other on the beach, went to every opening night at the movie theater, and made out under shooting stars outside of town. It had been amazing.

Neither of them had wanted a long distance relationship, though. Summer soon came to an end, and four awkward conversations about the future and their relationship together later, they broke up a week and a half before Shiro was scheduled to leave. He cried into his pillow the entire night.

Shiro, at fifteen, had believed he was in love. As far as present Shiro, twenty-six years old, was concerned, he had been; Samantha was undoubtedly his first real love. He still remembered their time together fondly, and hoped she was happy wherever she was now, perhaps working in one of Earth's many new intergalactic research divisions.

What he remembered most, however, was the lesson she taught him: To love someone is an incredible feeling.

* * *

 

Shiro's second love was a fellow cadet named Amy Jankowski.

Shiro looked down upon memory lane to his days as a seventeen year old cadet, quickly rising to the top of all of his classes and on his way to beating nearly every Garrison record, and found himself recalling sweet, shy, sparkle-in-her-eye Amy Jankowsky.

Amy had been beautiful. Five foot six, dark skinned, and her brown, curly hair always tied up in a high pony tail, Shiro had stuttered and stumbled for words each time she gave him a passing glance. It was the first time he was left at a total loss for words around a crush. He had felt like an idiot. Amy never took him for one, though. She gave him small, pretty smiles and giggled at his stammering, not an ounce of mockery in her eyes.

Their first couple dates were disasters. Shiro remembered being thrown so off guard when she asked him out, all of his half plans and half fantasies of asking her going right out the window, and constantly tripping over himself over the following month. He spilled their drinks on the table when they went out to eat, he forgot his wallet at home the night they went bowling, and his bike engine decided to die the morning before he meant to take her out into the desert. But Amy was kind and patient, and somehow, those dates - much like the many fantastic ones that came after - always ended in laughter.

Amy had been an absolute joy to be around. Shiro vividly remembered the passionate tone she took on when talking about her dreams as an engineer, how she was the first person to jump into action when an accident occurred, and the shining sparkles that never left her eyes as she kissed him.

Unfortunately, their interests hadn't been terribly compatible. Outside of their caring dispositions and devotion to their dream careers, they just didn't mesh well. The break up had been stalled off for weeks out of reluctance, but in the end, it had been mutual. They remained friends afterwards, even in the present (though not close friends due to their lack of shared interests).

Despite that, Shiro remembered with a smile the lesson she taught him: Love is, and should be, happiness at the end of the day.

* * *

 

Shiro's third love was his flight partner named Adam Wade.

Shiro memories of Adam were colored with a heavy, remorseful, and slightly bitter heart. They had met on their first day at the Garrison, two cadets assigned to the same room. They quickly became best friends, bonding over piloting, and were thick as thieves from then on. Shiro clearly remembered the afternoon he realized his feelings for Adam were no longer platonic, how it had hit him like a truck three days after graduation. They became a couple at twenty, less than a year and a half later, when Shiro finally confessed.

Adam had been Shiro's everything for four long years. They went on missions as newly established flight partners, they moved in together, they began plotting out their future in great detail. Shiro, to this day, could still see the light in Adam's eyes during their best moments. He remembered feeling like he had found The One for him as he gazed into those bright eyes. Adam had had him wrapped around his finger, and Shiro had been completely fine with that.

Until the reality of Shiro's disease seemed to kick in for Adam; then it all went out the door. The light slowly but surely left his face as he became less supportive and more pressuring. He wanted Shiro to slow down, to stop, to quit, to give up and allow Adam to take care of him like good maybe-someday-husband. It got worse and worse until he finally presented Shiro with a guilt-tripping ultimatum: him, or Shiro's dreams - one or the other, Shiro wasn't allowed both. He would never be allowed both.

So Shiro chose his dreams, moving out as soon as he could. He was not going to stay with someone who treated him like that.

He wished Adam hadn't died in the war, though. He wished they had broken up on better terms, or at least had the chance to make up. Despite that horrible ultimatum, he had held Shiro's heart for so long and for good reason. Shiro had loved him. Not being able to make things right with him, even if he had no desire to rekindle their old flame, would forever be one of Shiro's regrets.

What hurt most, however, was the part Shiro couldn't forget: Love, regardless of depth, could be unfair and agonizing.

* * *

 

Shiro's fourth love was an alien he met in Galra captivity named Sirona Espach.

They had shared a cell together between matches with four other Galra captives. Sirona's kind were a humanoid species. She was taller than Shiro by two heads, slimmer than any living human could possibly be, and had blue scales covering her body. He had been perplexed by her at first, as perplexed as he was at every other alien he met _because god they were real,_ but they eventually fell for one another.

Sirona was a fighter at heart. She stood her ground, she gave with all of her being, and not once did she give up hope they would escape one day. She had been the rock Shiro sorely needed when the arena was too much, when the nightmares overwhelmed him, when he needed someone to patch up his wounds and remind him why they fought instead of letting themselves die.

Looking back, Shiro remembered not knowing her too well as a person. They both had kept much of their former lives to themselves, saw no point in discussing their interests and hobbies when there was nothing for there for them except waiting, fighting, unethical experiments, and death. Nevertheless, her strong will had attracted him to her, and her soft heart captured his when he needed softness the most. They ate together, fucked each other, and leaned on one another through all the hard times.

Then Sirona disappeared. Rumor had it she escaped, just as she had desperately wanted to. Rumor had it the druids took her straight from her last battle to their labs and the wrong experiment killed her. To this day, Shiro didn't know what was the truth. He prayed she still lived, even if that meant she had left him behind. He wanted nothing more for her than the freedom the universe now possessed. He would bore her no ill will, so long as she had survived.

Shiro remembered the lesson she had imparted him, though, no matter what had happened to her: Love is warmth in the coldest of places.

* * *

 

Shiro's fifth love, his final love, his true love, was Keith Kogane.

Words could not begin to describe the unmovable force that was Keith. It seemed he was always saving Shiro, whether it be from surprised Garrison officers or from the grim reaper himself. Sometimes it was hard to believe this man was the same kid who had stolen Shiro's car all those years ago.

Shiro loved Keith with all of his heart, mind, and soul. He knew that now. He didn't know when he had begun falling for him, but he knew his entire being belonged to him and him alone. Keith was passionate, devoted, kind, supportive, loving, determined, amazing, incredible, astonishing, handsome - Shiro could go on for days. He could hardly believe he was lucky enough to have someone like Keith at his side. He still remembered their fight at the clone facility, the awful things his clone had been forced to say as he scarred Keith, and couldn't be more grateful that despite the agony of it, Keith still loved him.

Earth was safe. The universe was safe. The paladins were settling down as they worked with the Garrison and the coalition to keep the peace going. Lance and Allura were dating as they helped build New Altea, Hunk was taking the reins as Earth's head diplomat, and Pidge was making massive breakthroughs in technology with her family. Keith split his time between home and continuing his work with the Blades. Shiro, well - he had been promoted to the role of Admiral and continued to help the coalition, but all he wanted to do was do right by Keith. To do right with a ring and a promise to explore the yet undiscovered vastness of space.

Because Keith had taught him a lesson that appeared to be amalgamation of his previous lessons: Love, true love, holds on in order to protect and cherish, across all odds and obstacles, for eternity.

Shiro didn't know if he could ever prove to Keith he would go to the same lengths for him that he always went to for Shiro, but a ring and a promise might be a good starting place.

 

**Author's Note:**

> (Wow, I can't believe LM and JDS said on video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-ko0gP_hqY timestamp 1:15 - a long time ago that Shiro's sexuality is up for interpretation so anyone in the LGBT+ community can see themselves in Shiro, and yet in January 2019 fuckwads still can't accept that.
> 
> BTW, Shiro is bisexual in all my fics, and all biphobic comments will be deleted, so any biphobic sheith fans can save their breaths here. I'm full of spite and done leaving fandoms because some people can't stand LGBT+ characters who either aren't LG or can be interpreted as anything past the LG. Just leave my fucking fics alone.)


End file.
